An upright vacuum cleaner generally comprises a cleaner head rotatably mounted to the lower end of the main body of the vacuum cleaner. The cleaner head has a downwardly directed dirty air inlet through which dirty air is sucked into dust separation apparatus. The dust separation apparatus usually takes the form of a bag or a cyclonic separator. This type of vacuum cleaner is often convertible between an upright mode of operation and a cylinder mode of operation.
In the upright mode, the vacuum cleaner is moved over the surface to be cleaned so that the dirty air enters the dust separation apparatus via the dirty air inlet in the cleaner head whilst the main body is inclined rearwardly. The vacuum cleaner comprises an upwardly extending handle which the user can use to move the vacuum cleaner over the surface to be cleaned.
In the cylinder mode, the main body is put into an upright position and a wand, which is connected to the vacuum cleaner by a length of flexible hose, is used to introduce dirty air to the dust separation apparatus.
One known type of upright vacuum cleaner described in EP 134654 comprises a wand having a generally rigid pipe portion and a generally flexible hose portion. The hose portion is connected at one end to the main body of the vacuum cleaner and at the other end to the rigid pipe. The rigid pipe is selectively connectable to the main body of the vacuum cleaner so as to form a handle for the cleaner in an upright mode, or a wand in a cylinder mode. This arrangement avoids the need to store an additional pipe on the cleaner for use as a wand, since the pipe serves as both a handle for the cleaner and a wand.
In the upright mode, the rigid pipe portion is slid telescopically inside the hose portion and secured to the back of the main body of the vacuum cleaner so that the rigid pipe portion extends upwardly from the main body to form a handle. The user can then grasp the handle to move the cleaner head over the surface to be cleaned. In the cylinder mode, the rigid pipe portion is connected to the main body of the vacuum cleaner via the flexible hose. The pipe portion is released from the main body of the cleaner to allow a user to grip the rigid pipe portion and to manoeuvre it freely with respect to the main body in the manner of a wand. Tools such as a nozzle or brush are attached to the distal end of the rigid pipe portion, which forms the dirty air inlet of the vacuum cleaner for cleaning those parts of a room which cannot be reached with the normal cleaner head, such as confined spaces, furnishings and other above-floor cleaning.
While the wand and flexible hose allow a user freedom in their cleaning, the rigid pipe can sometimes be difficult to use. The handle portion of the pipe, which a user grasps to manoeuvre the cleaner during the upright mode of cleaning, is located remote from the user and can sometimes cause an obstruction when a user is attempting to reach a confined space. Also, the position of the handle at the remote end of the pipe results in a significant portion of the weight being at this end of the wand, which can also make the wand difficult to use.